Means to eject dust bag from vacuum cleaner casing



Aug. 25, 1953 e. H. CRANMER 2,649,926

MEANS TO EJECT DUST BAG FROM VACUUM CLEANER CASING 2 Sheets-Sheet l Original Filed Sept. 22, 1945 new IN V EN TOR.

ALJLATTORNE).

5, 1953 5. H. CRANMER 2,649,926

MEANS TO EJECT DUST BAG FROM VACUUM CLEANER CASING I Original Filed Sept. 22, 19445 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR.

/ M ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 25, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MEANS TO EJECT DUST BAG FROM VACUUM CLEANER CASING George H. Cranmer, Elkins Park, Pa., assignor to Electrolux Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Original application September 22, 1945, Serial No. 618,022, now Patent No. 2,564,467, dated August 14, 1951. Divided and this application April 2'7, 1951, Serial N 0. 223,420

Claims.

a vacuum cleaner having a disposable container for the dirt separated from the air, in combina- The bag portion is made of a material which is pervious with respect to air, but which is impervious with respect to dust, while the disc is made of material impervious with respect to both air and dust. Inasmuch as the member 20 is intended to be thrown away each time it is filled with dust, it is desirable to make it of as cheap material as possible, and consequently the bag portion may be made of unglued porous paper tion with means for automatically ejecting this 10 while the disc portion may be made of cardboard, container in sealed condition from the cleaner, although other materials, such as cloth for the whereby disposal of the dirt contained therein bag and metal for the disc clearly fall within the may be accomplished, without it ever coming in scope of my invention. contact with the hands of the operator, by merely The diameter of the disc 24 is such that it will throwing away the container and its contents. be clamped between the cover [8 and the packing In accordance with one embodiment of my inring 16 when the cover is secured to the casing l0. vention the means for separating the dirt from The cover is formed with an inlet opening 26 the air and the means for containing the dirt so which is adapted to receive the end of a hose, to separated may constitute a bag, preferably made t e Opp site d o W ic ay be connected any of porous paper, which may be ejected from the 20 suitable suction nozzle or other cleaning tool. cleaner by reversing the flow of air in the neigh- Secured to the inner side of the cover l8 and in 'borhood of the bag so that the latter with the a nm t w th t p g 2 s a tu ular m mdirt contained therein will be blown out of the her 28 which is adapted to P s through a Central cleaner casing. The reversal of air flow may be m Opening 0 formed in the disc A fla e memobtained by either reversing the position of the her 32 is Slidably mounted on th e terior Of the motor-fan unit within the casing, or by means of tubular member 28 and is urg v into Contact With properly located lve the disc 24 by means of a coil spring 34. One end Further objects and features of my invention of s sp n is anc red t u ar member will be apparent from the following description While the Opposite end is anchored to the flange considered in connection with the accompanying 30 member 32 in Order to prevent the lette from drawings, of which: sliding all the way off the former when the cover Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view of one embodiis ved. ment of my invention wherein the dust contain- A flap valvev 36 is secured to he i ner side of ing unit is ejected from the casing by means of disc 24 and is Provided With a Spring 3 w c reversed air flow produced by reversing the positends to p vot the a e o a po o C s th tion of th motor-fan t; opening 30 in the disc, as is shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 2 i to vi of portion of t apparat s However, when the cover I8 is in place, the tubu- Shown in Fig 1; and lar member 28 maintains the valve in open posi- Fi 3 i cross sectional View of an embodi tion as shown in Fig. 1 and in this position the ment of my invention wherein the reversal of air 40 Valve imposes no I'est'itenee whatsoever to th flow, utilized for ejecting the dirt container, is flow of air into the The flap valve may be bt i by 1 made of cardboard, and the pivoting thereof ob- Referring m particularl t p 1 and 2, tained by flexure of the cardboard itself, inasreference character HI designates a hollow casing much as normally the Valve d be Opened and which i lnovably supported by means f a pair closed only once during the life of the container. of runners, one of which is shown at E2. The perforated partition 49 y be provided su ti end of t casing is provided with a ring within the casing in between the compartment 14 which carries a Suitame packing ring I5. A which receives the container 20 and a motor fan cover member M is adapted to be removably compartment 42. Mounted within the latter cured to the casing in by any t m means 5 compartment is a motor-fan unit comprising an Received Within this end f the casing is a dust electric motor and a fan 46. This unit is pivotseparating and containing member designated ally mounted within the casing by means of a generally by reference character 2! This memlower P 48 and an ppe p n 50, the overall bercomprises bag portjgn 22 t mouth of dimensions of this unit being such with respect to which 13 secured to the periphery of a disc 24, the dimensions of the interior of the casing, that terior of the casing 60 when the unit is=in either the position shown in Fig. l, or when it is rotated 180 from this position.

The fan 43 is provided Withaninlet-BG; and the air discharged from the fan passes through the housing of motor 44 and out through openings 58 in this housing. This end ofithe. casing H1 is closed by means of a suitable. endcap Bil" which may be semi-permanently secured" in place-andis provided with an opening 62.

A rod 64 is slidably mounted in a member 65 and in a projection 68 on the ring I4, which member 66 may also conveniently consist of a carrying handle. A spring. 13- is disposed between the member Biiand acollar 12": fixedtothe rod, and hence-tends to urgetherod. to theleft as viewed in Fig. 1. Theleft hand end of: the rod is engaged by a projection 14 on the front cover. l8 when the latter isin place, thus displacing the' rod tothe. right against: the force of the spring 10-. With-the rod. thus displaced,

its right end. overlaps lever 52, as-is more clearly shown. in Fig. 2, thus preventing rotation of the lever'in a clockwise direction. Rotation in the opposite direction is prevented by meansv of a stop 16, and an. additional stop 13 is provided in order to limit. rotation of the? lever to 180. The rod 64" maybe provided: with a.- collar 88 which contacts member 68 so as to-limit displacement ofthe rod. to the left when thecover is-removed.

The above described device operates as follows:

To place the dust separating and containing member ZO-Within-the casing, the cover is is removed and the member is inserted until the periphery of the disc 24" seats against the packin ring Hi. If: desired, the motor-fan unit may be started in-order that the flow of air thus produced may be utilized-to draw thebag into the casing. Thereafter the cover is: is secured in place with the tubular member 28- extending through the opening 30in the'disc'z l. As above described, this pivots thevalve 3-3 to open position. The spring 34 urges the flanged member 32 tightly. against the disc, thus providing a substantial air tight seal between the tubular member 28- and the opening in the disc; If desired; member 32 may be omittedasthere is no pro nounced tendency for air and dirt to leak between the opening 30 and member 28, but its provision makes it certain that nodust will find its way into the space between. the cover l8- and the disc 24;

If a suction nozzle-or the like is connected to the opening 26 by means of a suitableflexible hose, air will be caused to flow in through the nozzle and the hose to within the member 20, and if the nozzle is passed over a dusty surface, dust will be entrained with this air. The air is able to pass through the porous material of the bag portion 22, but the dust is filtered from the air and retained in the bag.

When it is desired to dispose of the dust. thus collected, the cover 18' is removed. This per.- mits spring 38 to pivot the valve 36 towards closed position, but it will not be entirely closed 4 due to the fact that the flow of air through the opening 36 will keep the valve partially open.

However, the presence of the tubular member 28 within the bag during the introduction of dust prevents the dust from piling up in the forward end of the bag in a manner which might interfere with the eventual closing of the valve 36. Upon the removal of the cover l8 the spring 13 displaces therod 64 towards the left a sufficient distance toclear the end of the lever 52. Thereupon,.thislever. is pivoted by hand through 180 until itstrikes the stop 18. This reverses the positiorrofthe motor-fan unit within the casing so that the inlet 56 draws air from the atmosphere'throughv the opening 62. This air is expelled. under substantial pressure through the openings. 58 in the motor housing and passes through the perforated partition 49, thus exertinga pressure on the exterior of the dust container 20, which pressure is ample to eject the container. from the open end of the casing l9. As soon as the motor-fan unit is pivoted: far enough tobreak the: suction on the dust container, the spring 38 completely closes the valve 36, so that when the container is ejected from the casing it is completely sealed and no-dirt. is able to escape therefrom.

The sealed bag may be picked up. and thrown away without the dirt contained therein ever coming in contact with the operators hands. Thereafter, the lever 52 is pivoted counter-clock.- wise, as viewed in Fig. 2, until arrested. by the stop- '58, whereupon a new dust container; may be inserted. The provision of the rod 54 isdesirable inorderto prevent accidental pivoting. of the motor-fan unit while the'cover I8 is in place. If this should take place, the reversed flow. of air would blow a substantialpercentage of the contents of the bag out through. the tubular member 28 and the hose, inasmuch as the tubular member 28 prevents the closure of valve 36.

In the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 3. the construction of the-dust containing memben 20 is the same as that previously described. Also the construction of the front end cover l8 is-the same, but this cover isnot shown in. this figure in order to illustrate the closed position of. the valve 36. The dust compartment of easin i0 is separated from the motor-fan compartment 42 by means of apartition fiawhich is unperforated, except for a centrally located opening 32 which may. be closedv by means of a valve plate 94'which isslidably mounted'inv guides 3h. The motor-fan unit 98 is fixed within the casing Iii by means of a suitable support lfifl which also provides an air-tight seal between the. casin andtheunit 98. The right endof the casing is closed by means of a cover plate 592: having a central aperture which communicates witha hollow member I04. A conduit llifiextends from the upper part of thehollow member I04 to within the dust bag compartment. A plate I68 is slidably mounted at the outer end of I04 and is formed with an opening He in its-lowerpart and with an-upper hook shaped portion I I2 which may be engaged by the finger. A hose connectionmember H 4 may be carried by the plate H18 in registry with the opening H3- The plate I08 also carries a sealing member H6. which. is adapted-to seal the lower end of the conduit I33 when the plate IE8 is moved upwardly was to bring the opening. H3 into alignment with the hollow member Hi4.

Between the partition and the seal formed by support. I60, the casing It is formed. with an opening II8 which may be closed by means of a pivoted valve member I20. This valve member is connected to the valve member 94 by means of a link I22, the arrangement being such that when the valve 94 closes the openingQZ-in the partition 90 the valve I uncovers the opening H8 in the casing I0, and vice versa.

During cleaning, a cover, similar to that designated at IS in Fig. 1, is secured to the left end of the casing I0 and hence the valve 36 is held open. The valve I20 in the casin is closed, thus sliding the valve 94 downwardly so as to uncover the opening 92 in the partition 90. Also, the plate I08 is in its upper position with the sealing member II6 closing the end of the conduit I06 and with the opening H0 in alignment with the hollow member I04. Consequently, operation of the motor-fan unit draws dust laden air 'into the bag where the dust is separated and retained. The air passes through the porous material of the bag and through the opening 92 to the fan. This air is discharged through the openings 58 in the motor housing and passes through the hollow member I04 and the opening H0 and through the hose connection member I I4 to the atmosphere.

When it is desired to eject the bag from the casing, the front end cover is removed, the valves 94 and I20 shifted to the position shown in Fig.

3, and the plate I08 moved to its lower position, 1

as shown in this figure. With the parts in these positions, the fan draws air from the atmosphere through the opening I I8, which air is discharged through the openings 58 in the motor housing and enters the hollow member I04. However, due to the fact that the outer end of this member is closed by the plate I08, the air passes through conduit I06 to within the dust bag compartment, and the pressure thus created in this compartment ejects the bag from the open end of the casing.

While I have shown and described two more or less specific embodiments of my invention it is to be understood that this has been done for purposes of illustration only, and that the spirit or scope of my invention is not to be limited thereby but is to be determined from the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a vacuum cleaner, a casing, means for producing flow of air through said casing, means for separating dust from the air and for containing the dust so separated, and means for utilizing energy obtained from the air flow producing means to eject the containing means from said casing.

2. In a vacuum cleaner, a casing, means for producing flow of air through said casing, means for separating dust from the air and for containing the dust so separated, and means for supplying air from the air flow producing means to eject the containing means from said casing.

3. In a vacuum cleaner, a casing, means for producing flow of air through said casing, a dust bag removably secured in said casing in the path of the air for separating dirt therefrom and for containing the separated dirt, and means for utilizing energy obtained from the air flow producing means to eject said bag from said casing.

4. In a vacuum cleaner, a casing, means for producing flow of air through said casing, a dust bag removably secured in said casing in the path of the air for separating dirt therefrom and for containing the separated dirt, said bag having an opening through which the dirt ladened air 6. enters the bag, means for closing said opening, and means for utilizing energy obtained from the air flow producing means to eject said bag in closed condition from the casing.

5. In a vacuum cleaner, a casing, means for producing flow of air through said casing, a dust bag removably secured in said casing in the path of the air for separating dirt therefrom and for containing the separated dirt, and means for reversing the flow of air produced by the firstmentioned means in the neighborhood of said bag to eject the bag from said casing.

6. In a vacuum cleaner, a casing, means for producing flow of air through said casing, a dust bag removably secured in said casing in the path of the air for separating dirt therefrom and for containing the separated dirt, said bag having an opening through which the dirt ladened air enters the bag, means for closing said opening, and means for reversing the flow of air produced by the first-mentioned means in the neighborhood of said bag to eject said bag in closed condition from said casing.

7. In a vacuum cleaner, a casing, a motor-fan unit having an inlet at one end and an outlet at the other for producing flow of air through said casing, means for pivotally mounting said unit in said casing, means for separating dust from the air and for containing the dust so separated, and means for pivoting said unit in said casing to reverse the positions of said inlet and outlet to thereby provide flow of air in reversed direction for ejecting the containing means from said casing.

8. In a vacuum cleaner, a, casing, a motor-fan unit having an inlet at one end and an outlet at the other end for producing flow of air through said casing, means for pivotally mounting said unit in said casing, a dust bag removably supported in said casing in the path of air drawn into the casing when the unit is in one position, and means for pivoting said unit to another position in said casing to thereby provide flow of air in reversed direction for ejecting said dust bag from the casing.

9. In a vacuum cleaner, a casing, a motor-fan unit having an inlet at one end and an outlet at the other end for producing flow of air through said casing, means for pivotally mounting said unit in said casin a dust bag removably supported in said casing in the path of the air drawn into the casing when the unit is in one position, said bag having an opening through which the air enters the bag, means for sealing said opening, and means for pivoting said unit to another position in said casing to thereby provide flow of air in reversed direction for ejecting said dust bag in sealed condition from the casing,

10. In a vacuum cleaner, a casing, means dividing said casing into a first compartment and a second compartment, a dust bag removably supported in said first compartment, said first compartment having an inlet opening communicating with the interior of said bag, a motor-fan unit having a discharge opening communicating with said second compartment and having a suction opening, and valve means shiftable to one position for connecting said first compartment with said suction opening and for connecting said second compartment with the atmosphere to draw air into and through said dust bag and shiftable to another position for connecting said suction opening directly to atmosphere and for connecting said second compartment to said first compartment to produce air flow in said first compartment for ejecting. said dust bag there; Number Name Date. from.. 254%,809 Cranmer H, Ju1y6,, 1948 GEORGE: H. CRANMER 2,532,642 Senna"- Dec. 5, 195.0 b 2,564,467 Cranmer Aug. 14:, 1951 References Cited. 1nv the, file of thls patent 5 2 7 2 n Sept. L1, 1951 UNITED STATES'PATENTS? FOREIGN PATENTS Number Name Date Number: Country Date 2,070,674 Muentener' Feb. 16', 1937 255,389 Switzerland Fen 1949 

